Challenging misconceptions through lived experience and evidence about sex work, sexuality, and societal attitudes

When society talks about sex work, the conversation is often shaped by assumptions rather than reality. In this thoughtful dialogue, we sit down with sex worker and advocate Jenna Love and sexologist Dr. Giselle Woodley to explore what these discussions miss. From the practicalities of safety and boundaries to the complex relationship between research, policy, and lived experience, this conversation challenges us to think beyond the headlines and examine our own preconceptions about sexuality, agency, and respect.

In This Episode

We explore:

• What sex work actually means in practical, everyday terms
• How stigma affects not just sex workers
• The sophisticated safety practices and boundary negotiations within sex work
• Why the victim/deviant binary fails to capture reality
• How young people are already navigating sexuality and seeking information
• The gap between academic research, policy-making, and people's actual lives
• Why authentic sex education might need to include voices we're not hearing

Quotable Moments

"All we're saying we're quite morally neutral. The work is work. That's literally the end of that." - Jenna Love

"I think if we could work on minimising that stigma around sex, we would see a reduction in sexual violence." - Dr. Giselle Woodley

"Sex workers are teaching teens about sex. They're watching porn, and they're learning from [them], so they're teaching about sex." - Dr. Giselle Woodley

"The vast majority of workers don't sit on either end of either of those spectrums [victim or deviant]." - Jenna Love

"Just because you've agreed to something at one point doesn't mean that you're agreeing to it forever." - Jenna Love

"My wish for society is that we can be free from the confines of sexual stigma and taboo because I think we'll have healthier sex lives, less sexual violence, and generally be [healthier]." - Dr. Giselle Woodley

"You truly do not understand things unless you've lived them. And even then, it can be a journey to understanding that." - Jenna Love

"We live in this sort of juxtaposition of like a hypersexualised society, but we're all super sexually suppressed." - Dr. Giselle Woodley

Resources Mentioned

• Scarlet Alliance (Australian Sex Workers Association) 
• Somebody You Love podcast 
• Bloom-Ed (Relationships and Sexuality Education advocacy group) 

Connect With Our Guests

Jenna Love is a sex worker who has worked in-person for 12 years and online for 8 of those. She is the President of Scarlet Alliance (Australian Sex Workers Association), co-host of Somebody You Love (a podcast about the adult industry), and producer & co-performer in Whore Walk (a sex work history show). 

Dr. Giselle Woodley is a lecturer/research fellow in the School of Arts and Humanities at Edith Cowan University in Australia and is a sexologist with a background in Arts and Media. 

Connect With Us

• Follow She Speaks on Instagram: @shespeakswellbeingstrategies
• Visit our website: www.shespeakswellbeing.com

A Note on Content

This episode discusses sex work, sexuality, and related topics openly and thoughtfully. It's designed for mature audiences seeking evidence-based conversations that challenge assumptions and centre lived experience. While we discuss sensitive topics, w